Transcription

654 present HaghJah that carried treasure for the ruler of Masqat. Though much incommoded by the Bag-hlah, which she had in tow, the "Aurora" stood on through the middle of the hostile fleet ; and in the action which /.si » ensued she plied them so hotly with grape and canister that several were ip r sunk, and the remainder at nightfall drew off baffled, and disappeared in rofido the direction of the Arabian coast. Other Not long after this, the Qawasim pursued and fired at the jiceptth' piracies, American ship Persiaattacked the " Macaulay" and the " Cintraand even plundered a French schooner on the voyage from Mauritius to Basrah, though convoyed by a ship of the same nationality. .1 ' A few weeks later several other seizures were achieved by the Qawaeim, ■ among them that of a ship under the British flag, of which the name ^ witl was never ascertained; this vessel was taken by five pirate boats and ' her crew and passengers were put to the sword. The H.E.I. Company's armed boat " Turrarow" also fell into the hands of the imedn Qawasim ; and on every side their captures and atrocities continued. jw^jioe Matters had now reached such a pitch that Lieutenant Bruce, the itlie]
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , could not even obtain a boat to carry a letter of nmdii remonstrance to Ras-al-Khaimah ; most of the ports on the Persian side .r&rs o to the south of Naband had begun to emulate the Pirate Coast to the best » re of their ability; the Shaikh of Charak had attached himself to the t!>|ia piratical Ciasimi organisation ; and ''Abdullah-bin-Ahmad, Shaikh of Bahrain, was reported to have announced his intention of adopting piracy as the shortest road to fortune. Stages ft Capture of Matters were at length brought to a head by the capture in the Bed mercliautmen ^ ea -' 1816, of three Indian merchant vessels from Surat, which were mak- reived Sea^lb^G* 1 i n & the passage to Mokha under the British flag; of the crews only a few wi survivors remained to tell the tale, and the pecuniary loss was estimated = lelii at Rs. 12,00,000. The pirates were commanded on this occasion by '^ena Amir ibrahim, a kinsman of Hasan-bin-Rahmah, the de facto Shaikh of S| ®t! Ras-al-Khaimah. In this new and remote quarter the offences by the sir Qawasim had their beginning in 1815 ; and it was probably about thig time that, as tradition relates, they made cruel raids at various points along the southern coast of Arabia including the Kuria Muria Islands and llasik on the mainland, both of which they left virtually depopulated. ^'-proj Reparation ' circumstances of the outrage upon the Surat vessels took some Whaj refuwd. time to investigate; but in September 1816, as soon as the facts had % ti, e j been made clear. His Majesty's sloop " Challenger/'' 18 guns, and the ^astlie H.E.I. Company's cruisers "Mercury" and "Vestal," 14 and 10 guns respectively, sailed from Bombay for the Gulf. The "Ariel/' ^

Part 1A contains an 'Introduction' (pages i-iii) written by Birdwood in Simla, dated 10 October 1914. There is also a 'Table of Chapters, Annexures, Appendices and Genealogical Tables' (page v-viii) and 'Detailed Table of Contents' (pages ix-cxxx), both of which cover all volumes and parts of the Gazetteer .

Volume I, Part I has been divided into two bound volumes (1A and 1B) for ease of binding. Part 1A contains an 'Introduction', 'Table of Chapters, Annexures, Appendices and Genealogical Trees' and 'Detailed Table of Contents'. The content is arranged into nine chapters, with accompanying annexures, that relate to specific geographic regions in the
Persian Gulf
Historically used by the British to refer to the sea area between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Often referred to as The Gulf or the Arabian Gulf. . The chapters are sub-divided into numbered periods according, for example, to the reign of a ruler or regime of a Viceroy, or are arbitrarily based on outstanding land-marks in the history of the region. Each period has been sub-divided into subject headings, each of which has been lettered. The annexures focus on a specific place or historical event. Further subject headings also appear in the right and left margins of the page. Footnotes appear occasionally at the bottom of the page to provide further details and references.

Volume I, Part IA: The sequence begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 456. Total number of folios: 456. Total number of folios including covers and flysheets: 460.

Volume I, Part IB: The sequence begins on the first folio with text, on number 457, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 878. It should be noted that folio 488 is followed by folio 488A. Total number of folios: 423. Total number of folios including covers and flysheets: 427.